Cooper Flagg fights in debut, Mavs Edge Lakers 87-85

In the first moment of the first night of the Summer League in Las Vegas, it was a game of two players of great profile: Coope Flaggthe general selection number 1 last month, and Bronny jamesson of the world superstar Lebron james.

Normally, marquee games in the Summer League end up falling. Whether they are nerves or defensive games, young players usually do not reach the occasion or the main players of the NBA. That needs to be expected.

However, Thursday night’s game, which ended with a victory of 87-85 for the Mavericks, was an exciting game that featured prominent moments of shielding of both the flagg and James.

James started hot scoring the first five points of the game for either team, with Flagg defending it in both shots.

However, he couldn’t leave much later. He finished the game with eight points, two rebounds and two assists. James had the ball in his hands with the opportunity to win it in the second closing, but his three-point passage bounced.

However, there was a lot that he liked what James did. Although his shot did not fall, he made a lot of intelligent passes and seemed to read the defense well, especially outside the collection stages. After playing only 6.7 minutes per game between 27 appearances as a novio, James could be ready to play a greater role in rotation. Although it may not make a great leap this year, it should be ready to contribute.

As for firing the ball, it was a night to forget about Flagg. He made only five of his 21 shot attempts and lost his only free kick shot, which led to only 10 points. However, it was not affected on the subpar shot night.

“The coaches were very confident in me,” Flagg said after the game. “They told me they wanted me to experience, try some new things. I tried to be aggressive and as they wanted. Honestly, it could be one of the worst games in my life. But we got the victory. That’s what I really care about.”

However, he found other ways to impact the game. Flagg added six rebounds, four assists, three robberies and a blog, and had several experienced passes that established good attempts for their teammates.

Coach Jason Kidd spoke before the summer league began to want to put the ball in the hands of Flagg to make plays. This happened soon and often as the ball immediately went to Flagg after Dallas won the opening board. However, the Lakers immediately made it clear that they wanted to increase the pressure. Just after Flagg got the ball after the tip, they caught it before crossing the half track.

“You have this ball in your hands, the conditioned appearance comes into play,” said Mavericks Summer League Josh Broghamer. “They chose them on the complete track, they caught him, they were very physical with him every time he drove him. This is something, obviously for him, he is at a level of high level conditioning, but they continue to grow. As I said, he only had a draft and three training and all these things, and now he returns to play the groups, so that this will improve.”

Flagg also acknowledged the pressure and its conditioning saying that it is “not in the form of a play”.

“I mean, that’s what a lot of people will do,” said Flagg. “You know, definitely I feel that I can deal with this type of pressure. I will be able to take it without a doubt. Tonight the shots do not fall. This will happen.”

His game emphasized and is a skill that Mavericks expect to translate to the regular season, especially with Kyrie Irving (Knee) left aside to start the year.

However, Flagg was not the only Maverick to shine as a player of players. Ryan NembhardThat Dallas added in a two -way after he won last month, ended with 21 points and five wizards in the victory. The younger brother of pacers guard Andrew NembhardRyan was able to reach his place in the middle range by six of his eight goals, and he was able to configure his companions for many easy traits.

Dalton KnechtWho selected the Lakers with the selection number 17 in 2024, only had six points in the first half, and the team seemed to make a concerted effort to get it after the break. He scored seven points and attended the first four minutes of the second half to help the Lakers raise 60-50.

However, everything was Dallas for the rest of the period. They closed the third in an 18-2 race to achieve an advantage of 68-62 in the fourth quarter.

With 1:21 left, Knecht became clear and kept his leg. He confirmed after the game that his leg was dragged, which explains the upset attempt that the lakers would have made three points.

Mavs play again on Saturday against San Antonio, which should be the first game that Dylan Harper It adapts to the fact that it becomes a match of the first two options of the project last month. Harper lost the Spurs matches in the California Classic earlier this week and his game with the 76ers on Friday with a problem of ingenuity, but the hope is that he will play against Dallas.

Los Angeles will play the Pelicans on Saturday. New Orleans has a strong line, prominent for Jeremiah Fear, Derik Queen and Yves missi.